My Composite 2022 Course
Once again, it was a very good year.
I got this idea off of the No Laying Up Nest message board, and I couldn’t quite shake it - what’s the composite course you played in 2022? That is, what’s the 1st hole, 2nd, etc.? It has to map to the actual hole on the course (so, for instance, I can’t take the 18th hole at Pebble Beach and have it be anything but the 18th hole in my composite course). The course has to be one you played in 2022, though it doesn’t have to be the ONLY or first time you’ve played it.
So, without further ado, here’s mine! All yardage is from what would typically be the “Blue” tees - not the farthest back, but not the shortest “men’s” tees either.
Whistling Straits (Straits), par 4, 370 yards. This is a tremendous opening hole, showing off the links-esque course as you head towards the water. The photo here is the way, way back tees which are actually on the practice putting green. The hole doglegs to the left and has a cool sloping green, but is in most aspects a “gentle handshake” welcoming you to a course that will be anything but gentle.
2. Royal Hawaiian Golf Course, par 3, 148 yards. While I wouldn’t normally advocate for a par-3 to be the second hole from a pace-of-play perspective, this is the first hole I thought of when trying to think of what hole from this course I’d choose. You see it as you drive up and it’s a super fun tee shot with some room to miss.
3. Astoria Country Club, par 4, 373 yards. What’s interesting about Astoria is that after I played it, the memory is that there are so many holes that are “barrel” shaped with gigantic dunes bordering the fairways. The reality is that there are only about four or five holes like this, but they are so memorable. The 3rd is the first of these holes, and coming up to the tee box, it’s hard for your jaw not to drop - because at least for me, it’s rare when I see a golf hole and think, “Huh. Never played anything like THAT before.”
Spyglass Hill, par 4, 370 yards. I’ve now played this hole twice and I think about the green more than is probably healthy. It slopes severely downhill and there must be a way to hold that approach shot (I got so close this time!) but I need at least one more shot at it.
Olympic Club (Ocean), par 3, 149 yards. I had a chance to play the Ocean course at The Olympic Club and was playing quite well … until this hole. But it’s SO fun, a massive downhill par 3 that should be easy - but the wind, the slope and the pin placement makes it anything but.
Wild Rock, par 5, 551 yards. Wild Rock was a last minute add to my Wisconsin trip and was crazy fun. This was a great par-5 with an elevated tee box, but also an elevated green, which made it a true three shot hole. The green is massive, too, but slopes in a way that makes approaches and putts dicey.
Pebble Beach, par 3, 98 yards. Yeah, you might have heard of this hole before.
8. Pebble Beach, par 4, 388 yards. This one too. (Note: This is easily the hardest hole that I’ve played twice and parred twice.)
9. Poppy Hills, par 5, 488 yards. This used to be the 18th hole at Poppy Hills, but instead is a short par 5 that tempts you to go for the green in two but isn’t nearly as easy to do so even with a solid tee shot.
10. Gearhart Golf Links, par 4, 343 yards. I had so many options with Gearhart, and I’d be lying if I didn’t somewhat slide this one in just to ensure I had a hole at GGC. It’s a short par-4 with enough of a dogleg to make you think about your tee shot.
11. Green Hills Country Club, par 4, 343 yards. (Yes, it’s exactly the same distance as the prior hole, which is fun, because these holes play completely different from each other.) I played this as my 18th hole of the day due to a shotgun start, but it’s kind of an awesome happenstance. The fairway has huge contours and slopes, similar to the 14th at Pasatiempo. It’s not a particularly long hole (you’ll note I’m partial to the short par-4’s) and the green was just tricky enough to cause havoc on what seemed like gimme putts.
12. Pacific Grove, par 5, 513 yards. This is the second hole on PG that makes you wonder if you’ve somehow stolen something, because no $55 course should have views or a layout like that. The “Poor Man’s Pebble” is on full display with this one, a par-5 a big drive can get you home in two, but danger all around that could also put up a big number on your card.
13. Grizzly Ranch, par 4, 412 yards. I played Grizzly Ranch (up in Portola) on my way to pick up my daughter from sleepover camp and it was such a pleasant suprise. Tucked into the mountains, there are so many interesting holes, and this is yet another one of them.
14. Stanford Golf Course, par 3, 160 yards. I wanted to choose the 12th hole (a long par-4 with the centerline trees in the fairway) but Pacific Grove held sway there. Instead, I’ll choose the longer par-3 that has the giant S logo behind the green, which absolutely buckled the knees of my Berkeley graduate golf buddy on the tee.
15. Erin Hills, par 4, 346 yards. I’ve talked about this hole here a few times, but again we have a short par-4, and of all the tremendous holes at Erin Hills, it’s the one I thought of as I closed my eyes after a long, lovely round of golf.
16. Pasatiempo GC, par 4, 367 yards. Perhaps the hardest green I’ve ever played, this hole haunted me the first three times I played it - I finally made par this year (solely from one of the best lob wedges I may have ever hit), but it’s one of those holes you think about from the first tee until your ball rattles into the hole. So, so good.
17. Sand Valley, par 3, 214 yards. I wouldn’t really think that a 214 par-3 that’s UPHILL (and therefore plays 20-30 yards longer) would have made my list but I needed to get Sand Valley on here and I somehow made par. I don’t hit a 3-wood on too many par-3’s, and sure, par is an irrelevant construct, but the green is simply massive and pin placements really help ease the pain after tee shots that LOOK as if they’ve gone awry but really aren’t too far out of place.
18. Mammoth Dunes, par 5, 529 yards. A truly great finishing hole with a putting green that is literally almost the size of a football field, it has both a massive fairway and a bunker that runs almost the entire length of the hole. Even better, it finishes just at the clubhouse where many others will sit in Adirondack chairs watching you hopefully not make a complete meal out of the hole.
We end up with a par-71 course that’s quite short overall at 6,162 yards. That feels about right in terms of the kind of holes I like, and I think there’s a pretty good mix here. It’s a pretty amazing set of holes, and I am a bit shocked I got to play them all in 2022.
